California Vacation

I have been a little out of the blogging world due to the fact that we spent the last eight days in California. We were visiting Johnny’s family and having a small—miniscule—family vacation at the same time. We were able to visit a lot of our old, favorite spots and see family and friends. Elle remembered some of the things from when we used to live there—she was only 3 when we moved—but for the most part it was all new to her again. And it was Hudson’s first time to California, so we enjoyed showing him the ins and outs of where we used to live. It was a very fun trip indeed.

We started our trip out by visiting the Boise Airport and taking Hudson on his first airplane ride (Elle at his age had taken more flights than I could count on two hands—she was a very frequent flyer). Hudson did pretty well on his first flight—I was prepared for the worst—and he even fell asleep halfway through. But when we first got on the plane he was CRAZY. He was kicking and hitting every seat; he instantly figured out how to turn the latch and make the tray tables fall down; he grabbed/tore every magazine he could get his hands on; and at one point, while Johnny was holding him, he reached over the front seat and grabbed the hair of the man in front of us—very embarrassing. And all of that happened before the plane even got out of the gate. I was sure we were in for a long flight. However, halfway through he calmed down, and actually took a nap—thank goodness. Elle was an angel the entire flight, and never caused us a moment’s care—although maybe she seemed even better due to the fact that her brother was a terror.



We visited and did many fun things on our trip, and overall had a very enjoyable time. One of the favorite spots—for the kids—was when we visited the park. Hudson loved the slides—he is obsessed with slides—and Elle loved feeding the ducks. But feeding ducks can get a little scary when one duck turns into twenty. That is exactly what happened to Elle. When she first started throwing bread into the water, there was one lonely duck, but then as other ducks started realizing what she was offering, they came by the droves. And they were so aggressive, that they came out of the water and started chasing her. Good thing Elle can run fast. They were no match for her.



It was also fun visiting Johnny’s family and letting Hudson and Elle spend time with their grandparents.




Another fun spot we visited was taking this trail near the apartment we used to live in. Elle and I used to take this walk everyday. It was fun to walk the trail once again. Hudson loved doing this. He even walked up the steep hill all by himself. I tried to help him, but he of course refused—he is fiercely independent. It was a fun, memorable walk.



We also had the opportunity to attend the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Elle really enjoyed playing around and exploring here. There was so much to do and see. Elle ran around trying out as many stations and experiments as she could. It was very fun.



Lastly, we posed as tourists and went and played in San Francisco. It was a lot of fun visiting and sightseeing in this city once again. We have always enjoyed visiting San Francisco, so it was nice to be back. Elle’s favorite part of San Fran was The Rainforest Café. This restaurant was made for a child like Elle. Elle loves animals and the jungle, so this place was her cup of tea. I think she could have spent the rest of the day walking around the restaurant—she loved it. And whenever we asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she would reply, “Going to the Rainforest Café!”



Needless to say, our trip to California was a lot of fun. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and we are so glad that we had the opportunity to visit the golden state once again